From Brianna:
"So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions." (Galatians 5:16, 17 NLT)
"I'll get saved when I get right". "I don't want to be a hypocrite." "I've done too much. God can't save me." These are all reasons that people tell me why they don't want to accept Christ or "do right". If you're waiting for the day that you wake up and all of your sinful desires are gone, it's probably not going to happen. However, it is very possible that your desire to please Christ can grow GREATER than your desire to sin. It's often said that when a woman gets tired enough, nothing can stop her from getting out of that situation. Well, it's the same for someone who wants to change. When you truly get tired of living the way you are, nothing can stop you from taking the necessary steps to turn your life around. That's not to say that you won't grow weary or be tempted, because you will. However the more you feed your faith (reading your Bible, being around other people of Faith, attending church) the easier it becomes to flee sin. If you continue to hang around the same people that you sinned with, it is very likely that you will revert back to your old ways. For example, if you decide to stop drinking, but still go to the bar with your friends - TEMPTATION WILL COME. That's not wise. Refer to our blog posts "Who's in Your Circle?" (coming in the near future) :-)
No one said change is easy, but it's often necessary. Having the desire to do right is great, now let's try living it out. When you fall, get back up! Don't be discouraged so quickly. The laborers are few but the harvest is plenty. There may be fewer people trying to live right, but the assignment God has given us is the same.
This is how I judge myself. Consider this: When thinking about whether you should do or say something or if it seems like a "grey" area (not wrong, but not right), ask yourself if you could justify to God why you did it. "I didn't know" and "Well she did it too!" will NOT suffice. I may be able to fool my friends, but I can't fool my Maker. Keep that in mind. If you truly want to do right, start by giving your heart to Christ. Then, surround yourself with people of Christ. Find a good church home. Get a version of the Bible that you can understand (I suggest the Message Bible or New Living Translation). Still don't understand the Word? That's what Bible study is for :-)
No one said this walk with Christ would be easy, but I can personally tell you that it's worth it! Let's "do right" together.
Monique:
It wasn't too long ago that I too thought that I had to "Get Right" before I gave my life to Christ. I mean, I'm young, ambitious, vibrant, and lets not to forget to mention that I'm a pretty hot babe that's in college...LOL. No, but seriously, I had been feeling a tug on my spirit to turn my life over to Christ, but I didn't know how to "clean up my act." I felt as if I was too tainted to go to God as I was. I thought that I had to quit all of the bad habits cold turkey and then God would accept me. It wasn't until later in His word that I found out that I, MYSELF, couldn't do anything. That Christ was the ONLY way to become "right".
John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." It didn't go on to say, "Oh, by the way make sure that you get it together before you start believing in me." However, He did say WHOEVER believes in me, letting us know that we ALL have access to eternal life. When we are in the world the enemy wants us to feel as we are never going to be good enough for God's love. I remember feeling so low at one point in my life from all the things that I had been doing, that I just felt like "why would God want someone like me serving Him?" I mean, here He is mighty in valor, and abundant in grace and mercy and I'm coming to Him as a drunk, party going, gossiping, deceiving, vain, manipulating little girl. How dare I come to Him like this? No, I had to get it together. Immediately I started trying to stop all my bad habits cold turkey, and for a while I was on a roll. I was determined to be a "good girl" so I would be accepted by Daddy God. But quickly, I found out that trying to quit these things on my own was ineffective. I would find my self slipping back into old habits and feeling even worse than before I started. It didn't help that everything in the world told me that I was an outcast and that I would always be isolated for wanting to do the right thing. At one point, I even felt as if that was true. So in return I began to act out again slipping in and out of my walk. Talking about a big disappointment. It wasn't until I went to my mentor and she explained to me that God didn't intend for us to "get it right" on our own. That was why He sent His son. He knew we couldn't handle this world alone and he prepared accordingly just for this reason. It made sense!
One way that helps me stay on the right track is to surround my self with like-minded people. Proverbs 11:14 says, "Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety." It's hard to stay on the straight and narrow when you're not only new in your Christian walk, but young and surrounded by worldly influences. An awesome way to keep your mind on track and spirit renewed is to surround yourself with Christian friends who are going to encourage you, pray with you and for you, and lift your spirits when you need it and especially when you don't want it! It's not EASY - this walk we have chosen, but the burden is light and the end result is SO worth it. Keep this is in mind, "getting right'' can be hard when we set unrealistic expectations for ourselves. It's a process, and one that has to be worked on EVERY day.
“As iron sharpens iron, so does a man (woman) sharpen another.”-Proverbs 27:17